Article holder



J. H. HOMER ARTICLE HOLDER May 30, 1967 Filed Nov. 22, 1965 INVENTOR HOME/Q JOHN H. 6 ATTO/P/VEV United States Patent Ofi.

3,322,31 l Patented May 30, 1967 ice 3,322,311 ARTICLE HOLDER John Iii. Homer, R0. Box 34, Edison, Calif. 93220 Filed Nov. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 508,889 3 Claims. (Cl. 224-5) This invention relates to a device for holding articles and has for an object to provide such a carrier particularly adapted for securement to the leg below the knee so the same, and the articles held thereby may be conveniently carried while undiscernibly covered by a trousers leg.

Certain items ordinarily carried by men, of which pens, cigarette packages, pipes, tobacco pouches, combs, and other items, frequently cause unsightly bulging of the pockets of outer garments, such as coats and tunics. Such bulging is considered undesirable by the military as affecting the state of dress of a person in uniform.

Another object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a holder for money, papers and articles, as above enumerated, secured to the leg and so formed that the same conforms to and closely fits around the shin, particularly against the flat area on the inner side of the leg between the shin and the calf. When so carried, such a holder is disposed inwardly of a line extending between the knee and the inside of the ankle, thereby holding articles inwardly clear of a trousers leg.

A further object of the invention is to provide an article holder and carrier, of the character referred to, that snugly fits the leg by upper and lower leg-encircling bands and, in cases where the holder is wider at its upper end than at the lower end, is resiliently biased at an intermediate part to snugly conform to the leg independently of the hands.

This invention also has for its means that are positive in objects to provide such operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a working position and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture, relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The above objects are realized in an article holder that is made of pliable material, as fabric, is provided with a plurality of pockets of different sizes to hold a variety of articles, has said pockets arranged in upper and lower tiers or groups with the upper group occupying a wider area than does the lower group, is provided with upper and lower calf-encircling bands for mounting the holder vertically along the shin of the leg to extend from below the knee toward the ankle, and, intermediate its ends, where the wider and narrower portions of the holder are joined, is provided with means that biases the overhang ing lower corner of the wider portion so the same is biased into snug engagement with the portion of the leg that comprises a flat area between the shin and the calf. Thus, secured to a leg, the holder and the items in the pockets thereof are disposed inward of an imaginary line extending from the knee to the inner side of the ankle. The trousers leg around the described leg will, therefore, hang freely and clear of the item-holding device.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear in the course of the following description and which is based on the accompanying drawing. However, said drawing merely shows, and the following description merely describes, one embodiment of the present invention, which is given by way of illustration or example only.

In the drawing, like reference characters designate similar parts in the several views.

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a mans leg fitted with an article holder according to this invention, a

trousers leg being shown in dot-dash line-s covering the leg and the holder.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of the holder.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view as taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1.

clearance from said leg The article-holder, that is illustrated, back sheet or ply which, preferably rectangular portion is shown as a 1n this case, has a wider, 16, and a narrower recan opposite edge 19 and the narrower portion in an opposite edge 20 offset inwardly from the edge 19.

The ply portion 16 is shown with a superimposed sheet 21 that is stitched along lines 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 to form a plurality of pockets of different size, as the pockets 27, 28 and 29, arranged vertically and preferably open at the top. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the pocket 27 may vided with accordion-folded sides 32 to fit over thicker items as the pack 31. The pocket arrangement may vary as desired. Also, a so-called hidden pocket 33 may be provided in the ply 15 of portion 16 by incorporating a false ply 34 over the ply 15.

The ply portion 17 is shown with a superimposed sheet 35 that is stitched along lines 36, 37, 3:8 and 39 to form a particular use to which the holder is to be put.

The above-described pocketprovided holder is formed of pliable material, as fabric, thin plastic or plasticcoated fabric, so the same will conform to the le 5 of garters, to hold the holder in operative position on the leg. The snap means of the bands are preferably at the opposite corners of the back.

To obviate using a third leg-encircling band where the edge 19 of the rectangular portion 16 extends beyond the edge 20 of the rectangular portion 17, and to insure that the overhanging corner of the portion 16 is biased snugly against the leg 5 without such a third band, a gusset 46 of stretchable fabric or material spans across the inside corner 47 that is formed by the overhang 45. The direction of stretch of said gusset 4 6 is indicated by the lines drawn thereon. In practice, after the gusset, by one line of stitching 48, is connected to the ply 15, as shown, the same is stretched in the direction of its stretch lines and, while so stretched, is sewn along the line 49 to the adjacent portion of the ply l5 and the overhang 45. It will be clear that when the stretch on the gusset is released the same will contract to its normal condition tending to pull downwardly on the overhang 45. Since the overhang is part of the rectangular portion 16 which is provided with the pocket-forming sheet 21, the resulting pull on said overhang, rather than pulling the same in a direction to tend to close the inside corner 47, will bias said overhang 45 rearwardly, as suggested by the curl 50 in said overhang.

Except for the small pieces of metal comprising the clasp means 4-4, the abovedescribed holder is completely elastic and, therefore, foldable to a compact size. A an alternative for the above-described gusset 46 and the manner of its application, a flatly curved and flexible stay may be embodied in the overhang 45. The same may be made of plastic and, being of relatively small size, will not hinder fiat packaging of the holder. Since its only purpose is to bias the corner rearwardly, it may be lightly yieldable to contact with the leg 5.

While the foregoing has illustrated and described what is now contemplated to be the best mode of carrying out the invention, the construction is, of course, subject to modification without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it is not desired to restrict the invention to the particular form of construction illustrated and described, but to cover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described this invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An article holder adapted for mounting on the leg below the knee and flatly against the shin and the fiattened area of the leg between the shin and the inside of the calf, comprising:

(a) a pliable back provided with pockets for holding articles, said pockets being arranged in two tiers,

(b) leg-encircling means at the upper and lower edges of the pocket-provided back, and

(c) means intermediate said leg-encircling means to bias an intermediate portion of the back in a direction toward the leg,

' (d) said back comprising an upper rectangular part and a lower narrower rectangular part, said parts having one common aligned edge and the opposite edges being offset to provide the upper part with an overhanging corner beyond the opposite edge of the lower part,

(e) the mentioned biasing means comprising a gusset extending across the inside corner formed by said overhang and stitched to the adjacent portions of the back while under stretch, and

(f) the gusset, when contracted to normal, producing the mentioned bias.

2. An article holder according to claim 1 in which the direction of the line of stretch of the gusset is at an angle across said inside corner.

3. An article holder according to claim 1 in which the leg-encircling means comprise elastic bands having detachable engagement with the mentioned upper and lower edges at opposite corners of the back, the band at the upper edge being longer than the band at the lower edge.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 781,056 1/1905 Duncan 22426 1,184,311 5/1916 Boch 22426 1,664,804 4/1928 Allen.

GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner.

F. WERNER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN ARTICLE HOLDER ADAPTED FOR MOUNTING ON THE LEG BELOW THE KNEE AND FLATLY AGAINST THE SHIN AND THE FLATTENED AREA OF THE LEG BETWEEN THE SHIN AND THE INSIDE OF THE CALF, COMPRISING: (A) A PLIABLE BACK PROVIDED WITH POCKETS FOR HOLDING ARTICLES, SAID POCKETS BEING ARRANGED IN TWO TIERS, (B) LEG-ENCIRCLING MEANS AT THE UPPER AND LOWER EDGES OF THE POCKET-PROVIDED BACK, AND (C) MEANS INTERMEDIATE SAID LEG-ENCIRCLING MEANS TO BIAS AN INTERMEDIATE PORTION OF THE BACK IN A DIRECTION TOWARD THE LEG, (D) SAID BACK COMPRISING AN UPPER RECTANGULAR PART AND A LOWER NARROWER RECTANGULAR PART, SAID PARTS HAVING ONE COMMON ALIGNED EDGE AND THE OPPOSITE 